Wolves fans on tour in Ireland: Day Four

Today we travelled back home with a touch of the holiday blues, writes Express & Star reporter and die-hard fan Jon Pritchard.

But despite there being no Wolves-based activities, the friends I'd made over the week meant we still had a good laugh.

My first experience of a pre-season tour is that, much like going away to watch the games, sometimes it's the people you meet and the things that you do that dictate how good it's going to be.

As part of the Wolves travel club, you have no idea who you'll be put up with, but you know that you're all going to have at least one thing in common.

The eight of us spent various parts of the week chatting about our beloved team, as well as a variety of other things.

There ended up being nine of us, with 51-year-old Steve Maiden, from Albrighton, a latecomer to the party.

As we all met up for the coach to take us back to the airport, the spirits were still high and there was lots of chatter on the way to our terminal.

I'd been up all night writing up stories and had missed breakfast at the hotel, so I stepped off the coach before we left to grab myself a sandwich. As I came out of the shop, to my horror, I saw the bus pulling away.

With no other option, I ran as fast as I could alongside it, waving my bacon sandwich at the fans on the coach as furiously as I could while still keeping up.

Thankfully, it soon pulled over, and as I got on the coach I was met with roars of laughter.

We no longer had the Wolves to look forward to, but we were still all having a laugh and joke with each other.

On the ride back to the hotel, most of us swapped numbers and promised to meet up before or after a few games this season. The trip may be over, but friendships have been forged that will last much longer.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the last time I was running after a mode of transport yesterday.

Me, Steve and Richard Rochelle, had one last drink in the lounge at the airport and when I checked the departure screens, about an hour before we should have been getting on the plane, it said "final call" for our flight.

Without really thinking, we walked as fast as we could before bursting into a run to get to our gate.

As we got there, the woman at the desk told us that there was a mistake, and we had to wait another 50 minutes before we could board.

We chatted about what waited for us when we got home, and arranged to meet up for a beer or two before some of the matches in the coming season.

But our exercise for the day wasn't over. Me and Steve ended up sprinting after a train on our way back to Wolverhampton as well.

Running after planes, trains and automobiles meant that, even without watching Wolves play or train, I still had a good laugh even as the tour was ending. Even if it was at my expense.